| Meet ‘Laura and The Lovers’, Lithuania’s sensational new pop group. They were formed by Lithuanian music executives Justas Garliauskas and Danielius Mironas, and the famous Scandinavian composers and producers Bobby Ljunggren and William ‘Billy’ Butt. The sole reason the band were brought together was to win the Lithuanian National Finals of the Eurovision Song Contest - and that is exactly what happened. ‘Laura and The Lovers’ will represent Lithuania in the Eurovision Song Contest in Kyiv in May 2005 with the song ‘Little by Little’.
Laura, a rising star in Lithuanian pop music, is a dynamic young woman with glowing eyes filled with passion and sexuality – all wrapped up in a veil of secrecy! Her charismatic voice is filled with a unique blend of European pop/rock mystique. Music has been Laura’s passion since childhood. Upon graduation from music school, and after having trained her voice in an acapella group called Jazzland, Laura performed various different genres of music, including classical and jazz. She also sang with several local rock groups. In 2001, when world-famous German hard rock group, The Scorpions, held their concert in Vilnius, Laura was invited to sing as one of their backing singers. Laura’s experience includes not only participating in various Lithuanian and international festivals and competitions but also involvement in Europe’s biggest music festivals, such as Roskilde (Denmark) and Rock am Ring (Germany). At these festivals she gained experience by observing world famous groups such as Travis, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica, The Chemical Brothers, and Placebo, keeping her eyes and ears focused on how these bands performed and dealt with their fans.
In the autumn of 2004, Laura‘s musical career took a sudden and sensational turn. After watching her progress over a fairly long period, Danielius Mironas, an executive at one of the most successful record companies in Lithuania, Koja Records, signed her to his label. Around the same time, and by a remarkable coincidence, Mironas received a sudden phone call from Stockholm. It was the legendary Swedish composer and producer Mr William ‘Billy’ Butt. He, and one of Sweden’s most successful songwriters Bobby Ljunggren, had just written the song ‘Little by Little’ and were looking for a Lithuanian artist to perform it at the national Eurovision Song Contest. Within a few days Laura and her Lithuanian producer Justas Garliauskas found themselves onboard a flight to Stockholm where the song was recorded at the recording studios of Lionheart Records, owned and operated by Bobby Ljunggren. Danielius Mironas and Justas Garliauskas immediately saw to it that their new young artist was put in the competent hands of these Swedish professionals who have several years of experience in Eurovision Song Contests. Both Ljunggren and Butt have won the local national Eurovision Song Contests in Sweden.
“This is a new stage in my life. I have sung classical music, jazz and rock, and now I will try my hand at pop music. The song written by the Swedish producers fits the bill perfectly! I believe that it will appeal to our country‘s listeners,” says Laura.
The composers who wrote ‘Little by Little’ are delighted with Laura. “Billy and I are interested in the music of the Baltic region. After our success last year with Amberlife, we had the chance to work with many Lithuanian performers but the voice of Laura left an undeniable impression on us. The nuances in her voice are like the colours of the rainbow, sparkling with colourful tones and shades,” says Bobby Ljunggren. “Laura has definite star quality,” adds Billy Butt.
‘Little by Little’ has already been acclaimed by music experts. In their view, if radio stations give this song a friendly reception, it will have a good chance of becoming one of the most successful works of recent Lithuanian pop music history.
Laura’s backing group are The Lovers, nice guys who are experienced musicians. “We love beautiful women and good music, so we love Laura and the song,” they conclude. |
